Snowbound
by bunniko
Summary: Mamoru and Usagi’s ski trip takes a dangerous turn. Set at some point after First Season but before R break up.


AN: Last of my one-shots (for now). Baby ferret girl is recovering from her sudden bout of lethargy, so I should be posting chapter 3 of The Princess Problem tomorrow. I hope you enjoy this and forgive me for being a snow hater. Anyway, obviously this OHC is about a ski trip gone wrong. Thank you to OoOSakuraOoO and liloazngurl03 for reviewing Baseball Love!! –1-10-07

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Usagi kicked a stone into the darkness, angrily muttering under her breath. Fury warmed her icy skin and she held onto it desperately, unwilling to call a truce with the obnoxious man across the cave from her. She had suffered his insensitivity long enough. She was not going to apologize to the mule-headed cretin! Especially not when it was his fault they were stuck in this freezing cave with no hope of escape and no way to signal a rescuer. If he hadn't been so damn stubborn and had just listened to her in the first place, they would be curled up in front of a nice big fire, sipping hot cocoa and sharing a blanket. She tossed her head and huffed loudly, her breath curling about her face in a slow-moving fog.

Mamoru sat glowering at his fuming girlfriend, his left ankle throbbing painfully. He knew she was still angry that he had insisted on this early morning ski run to watch the sun rise. No doubt she felt justified since the previous night's snowfall had overburdened the mountain and their presence on the touchy slopes had triggered an avalanche. But he was the one who had gotten them the hell out of the way and into the safety of the cave by pulling her along as fast as he could ski and twisting his ankle trying to keep her from falling down and being swallowed by the rushing snow. She should be thanking him for even seeing the small opening and being able to propel them into it just in the nick of time.

Underneath their anger at each other, of course, was fear. Neither one had told their friends that they were heading out this early and they would probably not assume the two had ventured out at all. They had snuck onto the mountain, bribing an employee to turn the ski lift on early. No one was supposed to hit the slopes until 8 am. The ski lodge's management would probably assume all of their visitors were still safe in their beds when the avalanche had occurred. They had no food or water and no extra clothing to help them combat the lethal cold. One of Usagi's poles had been swept away from her and Mamoru had given up on trying to dig their way out through the small gap at the top of the cave entrance, afraid that the snow depth was too great and it might collapse in on them. Both were tired and hungry and their bad moods were preventing them from thinking rationally about the situation.

/\/\/\/\

In the wee hours of the morning, Mamoru had crept into Usagi's room and awakened her. Always grumpy when she woke, Usagi had hit him with her pillow several times after discovering it was 5:30 in the morning. He had laughed it off, determined to see his plan through. After much coercing on his part and cursing on her part, she got up and dressed. "Why can't we just stay in today? We could build a fire, make hot cocoa, snuggle?" she wheedled. Mamoru stood firm.

"This will be much more romantic than that, Usako. I promise." Usagi surrendered, realizing Mamoru was not going to be dissuaded. But it didn't mean she had to like it!

To tell the truth, Usagi hadn't even really wanted to go skiing. She still remembered the ski trip she had taken with Yuuichirou and the girls. It hadn't exactly been a wonderful trip. But Mamoru had his heart set on going with Motoki and Reika, so she had surrendered with as much grace as she could and resolved to make the best of it. When they were shut in by a snowstorm their first day, she had been delighted.

Mamoru, on the other hand, didn't think he had manipulated Usagi's decision at all. He believed that she had decided that a ski trip would be fun and romantic and had wanted to go after he told her all his plans. He attributed all of her protests and complaints this morning as her usual grumpiness in the morning. He knew she didn't like getting up early, but she was always so eager to spend time with him that he figured it would blow over by the time the sun came up and she realized what a precious memory they were making. He spent the ride up the slope envisioning the sweet kiss they would share at the bottom of the mountain, enjoying the crisp air, the new morning and the gentle sunlight.

Instead, their senses were fully awakened by the roar of millions of pounds of snow rushing downhill after them. Mamoru had been forced to call on his alter ego's extra strength to pick up enough speed to stay ahead of the destructive wall of snow bearing down on them. Hauling Usagi along like a sled behind him, it took all of his strength and concentration to keep them from tumbling over rocks and tree limbs. Images of them being swept apart and smothered under the deceptively soft snow filled his body with terror, and it was only his Tuxedo Kamen instincts that kept him moving and managed to spot the small cave. He was fairly certain Usagi was summoning up her inner strength as well, but it wasn't like Sailor Moon was known for her dexterity.

The thought about what could have happened to her if he hadn't been there had fed his anger for a while, but as the cold temperature forced him to cool off, he began to feel guilty. His suddenly not-so-brilliant plan had endangered her life. Losing her was something he could not endure. "Don't worry, Usako. We'll find a way out of this. I promise."

Usagi glared at him, her eyes colder than the icicles over her head. "Stop promising me things, Mamoru. They aren't worth anything." Mamoru was silenced by her unexpected attack. "You promised this trip would be wonderful and it hasn't been. You promised this ski run in the freezing night to watch the sun rise would be the most romantic thing ever. It isn't. No one knows we are out here. We have no way to call for help and you said we can't risk digging our way out! So you can't promise we will survive this!" Her voice carried an edge of hysteria.

Mamoru's anger returned. "What has you so upset anyway?" he snapped.

"You do! You haven't listened to anything I want at all! I didn't want to come to this stupid place! I don't like skiing! I can't ski! All I do is fall down, which I can do well enough at home! I don't like being cold, either. And I really hate being cold and wet, which is what I am when I fall down in this damn snow! I wanted to stay inside with you, but you didn't even want to hear that suggestion. What kind of vacation makes you wake up at 5:30 in the morning anyway?" The icicles rattled musically above her head as Usagi's voice grew louder and louder.

Mamoru took note of the tinkling sound and decided he needed to calm Usagi down before the icicles began falling on her. "I'm sorry, Usako. I just thought you were a bit shy about going on a trip with me. Can you please come here so we can talk it out?"

The pleading note in his voice weakened the stubborn part of Usagi's heart that cried out to leave the bastard. She knew him better than anyone, so she should have known he wouldn't have made her come if she had told him her true feelings. Responsibility for giving in rather than trying to make herself understood pushed her to acquiesce and Usagi shuffled over to his side. "I'm sorry. I know this trip is really important to you and I'm messing it up by pouting."

"Is that the only reason you are here? Because it seemed really important to me?" Mamoru asked, displeasure in his tone. Usagi nodded. "Well, I don't like that. I don't want you to just sacrifice like that for me!" At Usagi's confused look, he sighed. "I wanted our first trip together to be something we would both enjoy, not a sacrifice!" He glared across the dimly lit cave, "That's what I get for listening to Rei's suggestions."

"Rei suggested a ski trip?" Usagi was incredulous. "But why would she?"

Mamoru shrugged. "She said you all went and had a great time. I thought it would be the same for us."

"A great time?" Usagi snorted. "Boy, does she have her wires crossed. We ended up having to fight a youma, Yuuichirou was injured and she and I fought the whole trip! And she calls me air headed." Usagi grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Usako. I really blew it." Mamoru was miserable.

Usagi shook her head. "No, it was both our faults. I should have been more honest and upfront with you instead of sacrificing to please you. I'm sorry, too."

Mamoru pulled her into his arms, proud of her and touched by her display of character. Cupping her cold face in his gloved hands, he kissed her carefully, their chapped lips painful but their need to connect with each other undeniable. Usagi slid her arms around his waist and struggled to get as close to him as possible. He shifted his legs so that she could maneuver into his lap, all without releasing her lips.

Their kiss grew more heated, the resolved tensions releasing themselves as pure energy into their bodies. The ever-present passion that lay between them leapt awake and Mamoru's fingers searched for the zipper on her parka. Usagi shivered as he unzipped it, but his hands slid inside, running over her upper body and pulling her against him. Oblivious to anything but the sensations of his hands and lips, Usagi let him push the parka off her shoulders. Once her hands were freed from the sleeves, she returned the favor, tilting her head to take the kiss even deeper and her gloved hands slid under his shirt and stroked the muscles of his stomach.

Mamoru moaned into her mouth and leaned towards her, easing her backwards to the cave floor. He pulled at her layers of shirts, pulling them up to reveal her stomach and breasts. Usagi arched back as his hands brushed her sensitive stomach, feeling like it was doing flips inside her.

Mamoru pulled away from her kiss briefly to use his teeth to tear his glove off one of his hands. The cold air felt good on his once-protected skin. He cupped her breast with his free hand, applying gentle force to encourage her to recline back, supporting her back with his still-gloved hand. He stretched over her to kiss her again and Usagi whimpered into his mouth, her arms circling about his neck for support as he lowered her to the ground.

The moment Usagi's back touched the cave floor, however, all her heated thoughts fled. A sharp yelp of shock escaped her and Mamoru pulled back, lifting her into his arms. Her yelp dislodged several of the icicles above them and the showered down around them, sharp daggers that shattered on impact with the cave floor. Usagi stared at Mamoru wide-eyed, scared and freshly chilled to the bone. Mamoru cursed himself for being so stupid as to let his hormones put her in more danger. He helped her right her clothes and re-zip her parka, studiously ignoring the look of disappointment and guilt on her face. Here she was scared and cold and clinging to him as her hope and he had been trying to take her innocence on the floor of a cave! What kind of man did that? Only a caveman barbarian, that's who, his mind mocked. Perhaps Rei was right and men hadn't evolved very much throughout the millennia. He should be figuring out how to rescue her, not wanting to make out with her!

Mamoru didn't speak for several minutes and Usagi's guilt grew. If she hadn't reacted to the cold, Mamoru would be . . . she blushed. She was certain he was upset because of what had almost happened and because she had inadvertently stopped it. She wanted to tell him not to be upset. She didn't want to die here as a virgin. She wanted the man she loved and had given her heart to twice now to make love to her before she died this time. But even as she was about to try to put this into words, Mamoru spoke.

"We have to find a way out of here, Usako. Our future is too precious for us to give up now." He began pacing the cave, using what little light seeped in from the gap at the top of the snow wall to search for anything useful. He only found their equipment and some medium sized rocks lying about the floor. He kicked the wall in frustration with his injured foot without thinking, then cursed and fell backwards onto his bottom, the throbbing intensifying.

Usagi cried out in concern, rushing to his side and pulling at his pants leg in an effort to help. "No!" Mamoru gasped out, catching at her hands. "It's better to keep my ankle confined until I can bind it. It's only a sprain, don't worry." He looked up at the narrow gap in the snow wall. "But I can't reach up there to increase the opening or to lift us out."

Usagi contemplated the opening, then walked towards the wall. An idea popped into her head and she picked up one of their ski poles. Using it to knock chunks of snow down from the opening, she began packing the falling snow firmly at the base of the barricaded cave entrance. Mamoru watched her in silence for a while, before realizing she was trying to build a snow ramp.

Using one of his ski poles to aid his balance, he took the pole from her and started knocking snow down while she packed. His added height and strength brought the snow down faster, so he would have to pause from time to time to let Usagi catch up. She smiled up at him as he praised her idea and they worked quite happily for a while. But the exertion was increasing their thirst and hunger.

Mamoru tried to convince himself they would be free soon, but the thirst was becoming all-consuming in his mind. He knew it had to be the same for Usagi and he was proud of her for working so hard without complaining. Eating snow could kill them, but there had to be some option, he mused. Then it hit him: icicles. He hobbled into the center of the cave and waved his pole around, knocking some loose from the ceiling. Then he gathered up the big pieces of the shattered icicles and told Usagi to suck on them slowly. It wasn't very satisfying, but it was all they had.

The ramp was completed late into the afternoon. Neither was sure it would be a successful ramp or if they would sink through the snow, but they hoped it was packed firmly enough to let them scramble up and out. Mamoru told Usagi to go first. She spread-eagled herself on the snow to minimize her weight on any specific point and crawled up to the hazardous surface outside of the cave. Mamoru sent their skis up after her, then maneuvered himself up the slope. He sank a bit into the cold snow, but her piece of engineering supported him and he soon found himself blinking into the sun.

"Well, let's strap on our skis and head downhill." he suggested after a few moments. "You can use my poles."

"But you are hurt!" Usagi protested.

"I'll be fine," he declared, feeling macho. "Once we get to the bottom, we should find aid fairly quickly." Usagi nodded reluctantly and they pushed off, knowing the lodge was somewhere beneath them.

As it turned out, the avalanche had taken a path that led right down to the Lodge's back door. Though it was slow going for the couple, they made it back before dusk. The lodge's staff doctor bandaged Mamoru's ankle, Motoki and Reika fussed over the couple for several hours, and Usagi got the perfect fire, the perfect cup of hot cocoa, and a guy perfectly content to snuggle all night long in front of that fire she had been dreaming about all day.


End file.
